WWE Raw live results: Rhea Ripley returns

Date: July 15, 2024
Location: Nutter Center at Wright State University in Dayton, OH

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Show Recap — 

There was a video package for the Liv Morgan, Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley storyline. (The video was actually already underway as the show began.) 

Ripley walked through the back, through the curtain and to the ring. She received a big ovation and announced, “Mami’s home.” 

She said it’s been exactly three months since she’s been in the ring, thanks to Morgan. Morgan has been running around with something of hers but it wasn’t Dominik Mysterio. Ripley would deal with Dom later. Morgan was holding the championship that Ripley never lost. Morgan thinks she took out Ripley but all she really did was piss her off. Ripley called out Morgan. 

Dominik entered instead. Dom carried a single black rose. Dom was booed as he tried to address “Mamacita.” Ripley turned her back to him. 

Morgan interrupted on the big screen. Morgan apologized for her raspy voice. She had a very long weekend in Mexico and everyone knew she was a big screamer. Morgan was in a great mood. She meant it when she said she wanted to take everything from Ripley. She wasn’t sure what Ripley saw in Dom before but it became clear the more she got to spend time with him and kiss him. Morgan said, “Mami might finally be home but Liv is finally on top.” 

Dom tried to tell Ripley that this wasn’t what it looked like. Ripley ignored him and addressed Morgan. Ripley knew Morgan would be too afraid to appear because she knew her revenge tour was about to end. Ripley was patient enough to make her challenge for the world championship at SummerSlam. (The crowd cheered.) 

Morgan knew this was the end game and warned Ripley she wasn’t the same person she knew before. Morgan helped Dom finally beat his deadbeat dad, something Ripley could never do, and Morgan would finally be Ripley too. Morgan blew a kiss and said she hoped to see Dom at SummerSlam. 

Ripley said she would end Morgan’s revenge tour, title reign and career. 

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Drew McIntyre, Gunther, Ilja Dragunov and Sami Zayn were shown arriving earlier today. 

Ripley walked through the back as Dom tried pleading with her. She opened the door to the Judgment Day locker room to find it filled with black roses and candles. She slammed the door on Dom’s face. Damian Priest appeared and asked Dom if everything was good. Dom admitted they were not. Ripley opened the door and chucked flowers in Dom’s face. 

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Sheamus has new theme music. 

Sheamus defeated Bronson Reed (8:37) 

Sheamus was in control before a break but Reed was in control after the break. Sheamus fought back and hit a White Noise for a nearfall. Reed ducked a flying clothesline and hit a sit-out powerbomb for two. 

Reed missed a moonsault and Sheamus followed with a lifting knee strike (which looked like it caught him flush) for the pinfall win. The crowd was into Sheamus. 

— Reed was going to attack Sheamus post-match but Pete Dunne ran in and made the save. Sheamus wanted to shake Dunne’s hand but he left the ring. 

As soon as Sheamus turned his back, Dunne decked him from behind. Once Dunne left the ring, Reed gave Sheamus a Tsunami. 

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Ripley was with Judgment Day in their clubhouse. She was on the same page with Priest and asked if he needed help with Gunther or Braun Strowman tonight. Priest appreciated it but was good on his own. Ripley asked why Carlito was there. Dom entered before Priest could explain. 

Dom wanted to explain himself and said he tried contacting her all week. Ripley wondered why she hadn’t heard from Dom in the three months while she was gone. She stormed off. (Ripley ripped petals off a rose and chucked it aside before she left.) 

Carlito, Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh were once again playing WWE 2K24 in the background. After Ripley left, Carlito approached Dom and said, “She’s angry, huh?” 

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Dragunov approached Zayn in the back. Dragunov wanted to assure him that he didn’t help Zayn last week only to get a title match. Zayn knew that and said he was the one who asked Adam Pearce for the match. 

Zayn put over Dragunov and said he reminded him of himself. It looked ugly when they fought because that’s how it should look when you’re fighting for life. That was the kind of guy he wanted to defend the title against. Zayn told Dragunov to bring his absolute best and Dragunov told him to do the same. 

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There was a great Gunther video package. It was never his dream to be here but when he got to WWE, that’s all he saw from others. All they wanted was to be just like their heroes and they lacked originality. He wiped the mat with every challenger in NXT and he outgrew it. 

He went to Smackdown with the vision of saving the Intercontinental Championship. He took that prize with ease and became the greatest champion of all time. When his reign ended, he won King of the Ring with ease. He continued to see mediocrity from everyone and said the prestige of the world title would change forever at SummerSlam. 

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Jackie Redmond interviewed Zelina Vega earlier today. Vega didn’t like Morgan or Ripley. She would be at the front of the line for the title once their issue was settled because she would be champion of not for Dom. 

Sonya Deville interrupted alongside Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark. Deville thought it was amusing that Vega thought she was still in the front of the line. 

Vega said she couldn’t hear anything past Deville’s forehead. Vega said nothing would stop her from winning the title. She made a crack about Stark (or Baszler) having a mustache and another crack about Deville’s forehead before challenging her to a match. Deville accepted. 

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Sonya Deville (w/Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark) defeated Zelina Vega (1:05) 

It’s been 20 minutes since the previous match ended and this was over a minute later. 

Vega hit a 619 but Deville distracted the referee as Baszler stomped Vega’s arm. Deville hit a weak-looking finisher (basically a reverse DDT) for the pinfall win. 

— The heels attacked Vega after the match but Lyra Valkyria, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance entered to run them off. 

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Dom asked Priest why he didn’t warn him about Ripley last week. Priest tried to tell him but he was too busy with Morgan. Priest said Dom lied to him about communicating with Ripley and about trying to end things with Morgan. 

Jey Uso busted in and was amped about Ripley being back and being single. Priest actually didn’t dismiss the idea and, right in front of Dom, told Jey he might have a chance. Dom was upset so Jey told him, “When you see Mami, tell her I said ‘hi.’”  

Priest goaded Dom into getting a match made against Jey. Dom scampered off to get the match made and Priest was amused with himself. 

[SECOND HOUR]

Chad Gable approached Pearce and informed him that he cracked the code: Bo Dallas was Uncle Howdy. Gable also knew Pearce met with Bo last week and wanted to know what they discussed. Pearce said that was privileged. Gable wanted to know how Pearce would discipline him. Pearce told him Dallas was there tonight and suggested he deal with it himself. Gable was upset with Pearce for victim-blaming but agreed to call out Dallas. 

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Damian Priest and Gunther face-to-face 

Gunther said he appreciated Priest’s continued confidence. Priest has been living out his dream as a world champion but wasn’t living up to it. “Your reign has been… nothing. No prestige, no contributions.” 

Gunther said they were not cut from the same cloth. Gunther came in good spirits and wanted to lift the weight off his shoulder. He wanted to spare him the embarrassment at SummerSlam and offered to take the belt right now. 

Priest wished it was SummerSlam now so he could knock the smirk off his face. Priest heard Gunther say this was not his dream. While Gunther was being handed everything in Europe, Priest was fighting for his life on the street. He fought for 20 years on the streets just to get to WWE, let alone become world champ. Priest said he earned the title and Gunther was the last person who would take it. 

Gunther said being on the street was a choice. It wasn’t his fault that Priest’s parents didn’t think enough of him to provide a good life. Gunther said his parents provided him with everything because his greatness was recognized his whole life. While Priest was fighting on the streets, WWE was calling Gunther begging him to join them. They wanted to stop people like Priest from becoming the champion. Now it was up to him to restore prestige to the title. Gunther said Priest would always be street trash. 

Priest warned Gunther he was coming right at him. Gunther didn’t recognize why he lost at WrestleMania and why he would lose to Priest. Gunther didn’t have heart and didn’t know what it felt like to fight for everything he had. 

Priest would make sure Gunther ended up with nothing and we would find out after SummerSlam if he was anything more than a “boring, conceited, privileged, scumbag.” 

They went face-to-face and Priest shoved Gunther but Strowman entered before it could go any further. 

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Pearce told Jey Uso he was facing Dom tonight. Jey was amused that Dom wanted a match and gladly accepted. He said Yeet and left. 

Bron Breakker confronted Pearce. He was pissed about Dragunov getting a title shot. Breakker threatened to take out everyone involved in the match so Pearce threatened to suspend him. He was about to get security but Breakker left on his own. Pearce informed security to keep watch. 

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The first 75 minutes of the show had less than 10 minutes of wrestling and the next match was cut in half by a commercial break. 

Damian Priest defeated Braun Strowman in a non-title match (8:05) 

Strowman tried a running tackle outside the ring but Priest moved and Strowman crashed over the barricade, looking like a doofus in the process. After a break, Strowman tried fighting back but Priest kicked his leg out of his leg. Strowman later tried a powerslam but his leg gave out and Priest hit South of Heaven for the pinfall win. 

Strowman’s leg injury gave him an out but this still felt like a decisive win for Priest. 

— Gunther marched out after the match and Priest invited him into the ring. Gunther chopped Priest so Priest decked him. Gunther hit another chop but Priest clotheslined Gunther and he bailed. 

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Chad Gable approached Maxxine Dupri, Otis and Akira Tozawa. He eavesdropped on their conversation moments earlier and assumed they agreed to give him another chance. Gable also informed them that Uncle Howdy was Bo Dallas. 

Dupri said they all knew that already. She also informed him that they weren’t talking about Gable earlier. Xavier Woods entered the frame. Dupri said Tozawa and Otis offered to team with Woods against Final Testament next week. Gable was pissed and asked Otis if he was serious. Otis said Yes. Woods looked forward to teaming with them. 

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Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark (w/Sonya Deville) defeated Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (w/Lyra Valkyria) (9:53) 

A minute into the match, they went to a split screen to show a movie commercial. They went to a regular break moments later. The babyfaces shined for a bit after the break but after some interference by Deville, Baszler and Stark hit their double-team elevated knee strike on Katana for the pinfall win. 

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Bálor and McDonagh admitted to Ripley that Morgan helped them win the tag titles. She didn’t care. She knew Morgan was playing games. She was just glad that Judgment Day had the titles again and it was her turn to get her title back. 

Dom approached again and told Ripley he got a match against Jey Uso to teach him a lesson for talking about her. She asked if he was stupid for getting a match against Jey. Dom offered to cancel the match but then she asked if he was a coward. 

Dom said he wanted to show Jey and everyone else that Ripley was her Mami and she belonged to him. Ripley stormed off. Dom immediately regretted his comment and said he didn’t mean it that way. (Carlito provided some more comedic relief.) 

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[THIRD HOUR]

Drew McIntyre segment 

Pearce called McIntyre to the ring and he entered. The crowd chanted for CM Punk. Pearce said they were on the verge of something special. Pearce and the fans all wanted to see the match between McIntyre and Punk. Pearce said Punk was home right now, at his request, trying to get cleared because he wanted it too. 

Pearce asked McIntyre if he wanted the match and McIntyre said he wanted it more than anything in the world. Pearce said they needed to leave the pettiness and irrational behaviour behind. If McIntyre was ready to do that, Pearce was ready to do business. McIntyre agreed. He wanted the match. 

McIntyre acted like a babyface and asked the fans if they wanted to see him against Punk at SummerSlam. The crowd cheered and chanted for Punk. McIntyre asked Pearce to make it official. Pearce wanted McIntyre to do something for him. 

Pearce called in two referees. Pearce said McIntyre didn’t deserve what happened to him at Money in the Bank but neither did the referees. Pearce wanted McIntyre to apologize to them. McIntyre wasn’t sure why he would do that. Pearce said they put their bodies on the line and they were disrespected. McIntyre didn’t like this but Pearce re-iterated that he only needed to apologize. The crowd chanted, “Say ‘you’re sorry’.” McIntyre said, “No.” 

McIntyre was pissed. He said he kept getting screwed around here and this has all happened under Pearce’s watch. Punk screwed him over again and sat cross-legged like an idiot on the table. Pearce didn’t send refs after Punk like he did to him. Pearce should be on his hands and knees apologizing to him. McIntyre would never accept an apology from Punk and wanted his head on a spike. 

McIntyre kept ranting until Pearce cut him off to tell him he was suspended. McIntyre shoved both referees down and got in Pearce’s face until Seth Rollins ran out to his music. 

Rollins attacked but McIntyre bailed before Rollins could hit a stomp. Pearce ordered security to get McIntyre out of the building. McIntyre shoved them aside and left on his own. 

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Wyatt Sicks VHS tape 

They showed a clip from the Pat McAfee show of the Wyatt Sicks interrupting his show (while ESPN’s Jeff Passan was on as a guest) to give him a VHS tape. 

They aired the tape. An unmasked Erick Rowan was interviewed by Uncle Howdy (who was offscreen). 

Rowan said it’s been a rough few years. He used to be part of a family and they always had each other’s backs until one day, the whole world changed. He lost a brother. The person who believed in him most — just gone. It knocked him on his ass. 

He wiped the dust off and kept moving but his other brother was suddenly gone too. He had no more family, no more will. He fell down a well and didn’t want to get out. “Who’s going to miss me? I’m just Rowan.” 

Rowan knew he needed help and accepted that help (from Uncle Howdy). He could help those like himself. 

(The Wyatt smoke and mirrors aside, Rowan was excellent here.) 

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Jey Uso defeated Dominik Mysterio (9:07) 

Dom attacked Jey during his entrance and controlled through a commercial break. Jey unsurprisingly fought back after the break with right hands, a thrust kick, uppercut, enziguri and running hip attack. 

Jey set up for a splash but Morgan entered to pull Dom from the ring. Jey dropkicked Dom which caused him to fall on top of Morgan again. Morgan mounted Dom and went for a kiss but Ripley ran out (to her music). Morgan bailed through the crowd and Ripley told Dom to get back in the ring. 

Jey hit a spear and Uso Splash for the pinfall win. 

Not only did Morgan pull Dom out of the ring in front of the ref, which should have been a DQ, but Dom was out of the ring for a full minute, which should have been a count-out.

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Ripley approached Dom and told him: “Dom Dom, let’s get something straight. I don’t belong to anyone. I’m not yours. You’re mine.” She smiled and handed him a rose. He smiled. 

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Chad Gable / Bo Dallas segment 

Gable once again informed us that Uncle Howdy was Bo Dallas as if we didn’t know. Gable called him out. 

Dallas entered in street clothes (and no music) but he was attacked from behind by the Creed Brothers. (The Creeds wore suits.)  

Gable and the Creeds stood over Bo Dallas who began laughing. Julius and Brutus Creed held him down as Gable hammered away at him. Dallas wouldn’t stay down and they continued to attack. Gable hit a high-angle German suplex but Dallas sat against the bottom turnbuckle and continued laughing. 

Gable grabbed Dallas and asked what was so funny. Dallas said, “There you are.” 

The lights went down and there were some “You f**ked up” chants. 

Four members of the Wyatt Sicks entered. They took their time getting to the ring so Gable and the Creeds were long gone by the time they did. The Wyatt Sicks stood alongside Dallas who put his arms out (Bray Wyatt’s pose) and laughed as the segment ended. 

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Next week on Raw in Green Bay: 

• CM Punk appears 
• Lyra Valkyria vs. Sonya Deville 
• Xavier Woods, Otis & Tozawa vs. Final Testament 

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Intercontinental Championship match: Ilja Dragunov defeated Sami Zayn via disqualification — Zayn retrains the championship (11:24) 

A dive by Zayn led to break 90 seconds into the match. They went back and forth after the break until Zayn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Zayn hit an exploder, dropping Dragunov on his head, but Dragunov responded by crunching his face with a boot. 

Dragunov tried an H-Bomb but Zayn got his boot up. Dragunov kneed Zayn out of the ring and hit an H-Bomb off the apron. Dragunov hit a diving dropkick but Zayn got his knees up on a diving senton for a two count. Zayn knocked Dragunov off the apron with a Helluva Kick. Instead of taking a potential count-out win, Zayn went out to get him. 

Breakker appeared on the stage, sprinted down to ringside, and speared Dragunov for the DQ. (Zayn and Dragnov were side-by-side so he was going for both men, but Zayn moved at the last moment.) 

— Zayn tried fighting back but Breakker cut him down with a spear. Breakker posed as the show ended.

(I know it doesn’t always have to be, but boy was this not a good show for wrestling.)